Games, TV and Nerd Culture

The really crappy thing about being born in 1979 is that you’re human without a tribe. No matter what various academics or thinkpieces say, I’m not a Gen X’er, and I’m not a Millenial. I remember scavenging for survival in a world before cell phones and inserting floppy disks that required correct manipulation of the MS-DOS prompt to play. (BTW, Think Quick was the best.) But I was too young to be angsty enough for “The Breakfast Club” or to even know who the hell Chachi is. Seriously, every time Donald Trump trotted him out, I felt like I was missing some hilarious inside joke.

But the one tribe I do have is nerds. Both Gen X’ers and Millennials own the realm of Nerd-dom and have wielded it against Boomers like Jon Snow slashing Ice against the White Walkers. Being smart, loosing yourself in epic fantasy, admitting you play Pokemon – it’s all protected under the nerd mantle. Aging Boomer bosses realize their life no longer functions without the industrious and bespeckled IT gal who can’t work Tuesday and Thursday nights because her Level 110 bear tank is progression raiding through the Emerald Nightmare.

Now my son, 10, is part of that tribe. His peer group is full of comic book reading, Sonic the Hedgehog obsessed, 3-d printing geeks. And, unlike when I grew up, nobody bats an eye. He’d rather learn to code than join Boy Scouts? Grandpa just chuckles, writes a check to help cover the classes and mumbles something about “that boy taking us to Mars.”

As accepted as being a nerd is for my son, it’s still less so for me. For professional women, it seems there’s still a stigma attached to staying up until midnight playing Time Stories or building a whole vacation around a video game convention. This blog will be a selfish outlet for my latest obsessions in that culture. I particularly love PS4 and PC games. (Crey: Five Nights at Freddy’s. Me: Inside. Crey: Doki Doki Universe. Me: Witcher 3 Wild Hunt) I adore television and podcasts, and can spend way too much time in either. “Westworld,” “Game of Thrones,” “The Americans,” top my tv list, while DLC and How to Be A Person are my fave podcasts.

One more thing I’d like to clarify: this is not a “mommy” blog in the traditional sense. You won’t find any “fresh fruit frappe” recipes here, any #blessed stories, professionally-staged or Instagram worthy photos, or any advice on how to raise your kids to be more mannerly. If I do share recipes, they will likely involve a bag of Doritos. My son is a kind and empathetic human, but it’s a mystery how he ended up that way. I promise to always be authentic and never to take the word “nerd” in vain.

Thanks for reading, and I hope to keep you entertained!

Disclaimer: To deter the Judge Judy’s out there, my son and I do engage in joint activities away from screens. We ride bikes, do yoga, write plays, read books, hunt for long-lost cemeteries, etc.